A FEM BASED ANALYSIS OF HIGH STRAIN RATE BEHAVIOUR OF HDPE NANO-COMPOSITES

Abstract

Nanocomposites are emerging as potential candidate to replace conventional and advanced materials in many applications. Despite to the fact that nanocomposites are extensively studied for static behavior, but still the research on the dynamic behavior is in a immature stage. In this study the impact or high strain rate behavior of polymer nanocomposites were studied. The continuum mechanics-based approach in conjunction with finite element codes were utilized to simulate the shock propagation in nanocomposites. The bi-linear damage laws in conjunction with Johnson Cook model was utilized to simulate the force and displacement relationship in a nanocomposite subjected to shock loading. Hexagonal nanosheets (h-BN) were used to reinforce the high-density polyethylene matrix. Bi-linear traction separation law (TSL) was imposed at the interface between h-BN nanosheets and polyethylene matrix to simulate the strength. The parameters of Johnson Cook model was derived from the experimental results available in the literature. It was concluded from the FE simulations that h-BN nanosheets at higher weight percentage can mitigate the propagation of shock wave in nanocomposite. The outcome of the thesis will help in designing the experiments for high strain rate behaviour of h-BN reinforced nanocomposites.